


Snart, Mr. & Mrs.

by crazygirlne



Series: Vows [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drunken cuddling, F/M, Fake Marriage, Friends to Lovers, POV Alternating, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-07-27 13:21:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7619656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazygirlne/pseuds/crazygirlne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She’s been fighting so hard against thinking of Leonard in <i>that</i> way, as anything other than a friend and teammate, because after what happened at the Oculus, she was reminded of just how easy it would be for one of them to die, and she can’t lose anyone else. She just can’t. </p>
<p>And pretending to be married to him, pretending to be Mrs. Sara Snart?</p>
<p>That’s going to make everything impossible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Do You Take This

**Author's Note:**

> Fake Married! Sharing a bed! I'm going to have fun with tropes here, but as usual, I'll do my best to make sure these two react to them realistically. It's currently looking like it'll be 10 chapters, and I'm intending to keep it teen, but if there's excessive disagreement with that, I do aim to please.
> 
> The chapters should come quickly because I'm having a blast.

They’ve been on the Waverider for a year now, so it isn’t like Rip’s plans are exactly new. There’s even a grudging amount of respect now that their illustrious captain has gotten used to the team’s eccentricities; it lets him put together plans that don’t immediately fall apart.

The Oculus’s destruction probably helps with that, too.

Still, every once in a while, there’s a plan that makes Leonard wonder whether the team has finally pushed the man too far.

“You want us to do  _ what _ now?” Sara’s tone and expression say it all, so Leonard looks from her back to Rip, waiting for an answer.

Rip repeats his last statement. “I  _ need _ the two of you to pose as a married couple until we can ascertain whether a particular artifact presents a danger to this time period.”

“You can’t be serious,” Leonard drawls. Sara crosses her arms over her chest, eyes firmly on Rip, who sighs.

“Look, with Kendra and Carter gone, the two of you are the best candidates for passing as a married couple at this point in history. It’s not long enough ago for you to struggle with the technology, as you should both remember this time period firsthand, but it’s long enough ago that Mr. Snart and Mr. Rory wouldn’t exactly blend in.”

Sara snorts lightly, and Leonard feels a tug at his lips as he pictures himself and his partner ever being a subtle choice together. They don’t really do blending in; they’re either entirely unseen or they’re tearing up the joint.

Rip’s fingers fly over the digital keys for a minute, and he brings up a few illustrations of graphs before he continues. “Gideon has found readings indicating a temporally displaced object, but she’s been unable to confirm whether it’s likely to cause problems. We can’t just remove it if it’s harmless; that’s just as likely to cause problems with the timeline. We need a closer look.” He holds up a little device the size of a USB stick. “If you get this close enough, it will be able to tell us whether we need to intervene.”

“Why can’t we just rob the joint?” Leonard asks.

“Because this seems to be a weak point, this particular time and place. It’s more susceptible to accidental damage, so we can’t risk it. We need someone to ingratiate themselves with the person who has the object so they can gain access without risking detection.”

“And where does the whole marriage thing come into this?” Sara asks. 

“Good question,” Leonard seconds.

Rip pulls up pictures of a man and a woman, on the attractive side of average. “Mr. and Mrs. Harper. They are rarely apart in their downtime, preferring to spend it alone or with other married couples. I managed to secure you an apartment across the hall from theirs, and Michelle, the wife, is likely to greet you at the soonest opportunity, probably with Matthew by her side. I trust you can take it from there.”

Leonard smirks; Rip was definitely looking at Sara while suggesting competence in social interactions with strangers. Really, though, when they’re both actually trying, he and Sara are about on equal footing when it comes to laying on the charm.

“Okay,” Sara says, “I guess I get why you need us to do this, but I mean… It didn’t go all that great when Ray and Kendra did the whole fake marriage thing.”

“That was an entirely different set of circumstances,” Rip says immediately. “For one thing, the Harpers are neither immortal nor evil. For another, we don’t have Chronos after us, and there’s absolutely no reason to think the Waverider will need to depart either time or location. Lastly, unlike Ray and Kendra, the two of you are not in a relationship. You’ve always worked well together, and there’s no reason that shouldn’t continue.”

It’s true; he and Sara aren’t in a relationship, and they do work well together. It had looked briefly like they might have more, but aside from a short exchange and that one (admittedly quite memorable) kiss, they haven’t moved past being friends. Not that being friends is bad, by any means, and Leonard considers himself exceedingly lucky to have that. It’s just that his feelings for Sara aren’t strictly platonic, and he doesn’t know what pretending to be married is going to do for either of them.

“You’ll need backstories,” Rip continues, unaware of Leonard’s internal debate. “You’ll be posing as Sara and Leonard Snart.”

“I’m going to be Sara Snart?”

Leonard frowns. He’s a little surprised at the amount of disbelief in her voice. He’s even more surprised, though, at the fact that he finds the idea… Not exactly repulsive.

“It’s easiest to stay in character if you stick with your real names,” Rip explains, “and I went with Mr. Snart’s last name because, frankly, I’m more used to using it than I am yours. You can be the Lances next time, if you wish.”

“Next time?” Sara’s eyebrows are raised. “We haven’t even agreed to this one yet.”

Rip softens, and Leonard hates the way he feels when the captain looks at Sara that way. He’s not got any reason to feel jealous of the other man.

“This really is the best chance this mission has of succeeding, Sara. I didn’t expect you to have such trouble with it, and everything’s in place now. I won’t force you to do it, not if you truly can’t, but I do wish you would.”

***

Damn it. She can feel Leonard watching her, and Rip is looking at her all concerned, and she knows neither of them gets why this is bothering her so much.

She’s not even entirely sure  _ she _ understands, not fully. But she’s been fighting so hard against thinking of Leonard in  _ that _ way, as anything other than a friend and teammate, because after what happened at the Oculus, she was reminded of just how easy it would be for one of them to die, and she can’t lose anyone else. She just can’t. 

And pretending to be married to him, pretending to be Mrs. Sara Snart?

That’s going to make everything impossible. 

Apparently, though, the whole timeline could fall apart if she doesn’t find a way to make it work. She glances at Leonard, but his face is unreadable as he meets her eyes. If they could just  _ talk _ before they decide what to do…

Leonard turns back to Rip. “Why don’t you give us a few minutes to think this through before we jump straight into holy matrimony?”

Sara feels a surge of relief at his words, tempered only by mild annoyance at how well he reads her.

Rip nods. “That’s more than fair. I’ll need you both ready to go within the hour, though, assuming you accept. You don’t need to pack clothes; Gideon has arranged for era-appropriate clothing. However, you can bring anything you find necessary, provided it doesn’t make blending in a challenge.”

Leonard frowns. “I assume that means my cold gun is out?”

“That would be an accurate assumption, Mr. Snart.”

“Peachy.” Leonard looks back at Sara and gestures for them to leave the room. They head to hers, where they can avoid interruptions. As soon as the door closes behind them, Leonard turns to her. “What’s wrong?”

Cutting to the chase, then. “I don’t really see myself as the marrying type.” It might be a deflection, but it’s true. “But I guess I just thought if I was gonna be ‘Mrs.’  _ anybody, _ it would be because I was with someone I couldn’t live without, not because I was on a stupid mission.”

Leonard steps close, closer than he usually stands, and she has to look up to meet his eyes. Her arms, crossed over her chest once more, are just a few inches from his torso. His expression isn’t helping anything; he looks far too concerned, and maybe this would be easier if he had his normal, cold look.

“It’s just a cover, Sara. And I doubt it’s going to take more than a few days to get what we need and get out of there.”

“And  _ you’re _ okay with this whole thing?” she asks.

Something flickers through his eyes, and when it passes a moment later, he’s closer to his usual look. “It’s a mission. An undercover infiltration. It’s not like it’s the first time, even if I haven’t pretended to be married before.” He hesitates, and a muscle works in his jaw. “I don’t exactly see myself as the marrying type, either. If I’m honest, though, if I have to play pretend, I’m glad it’s with you.”

Sara watches him, the certainty in his gaze, for as long as she can stand before she blows out a breath and turns away from him. Damn Snart and his ability to say exactly what he needs in order to get under her skin. The man plays an uncaring ass, and then he does things like let her all but cuddle with him when they’re freezing, talk about their  _ future _ together, and hold her after her sister…

It’ll be pretend, like he said. She’ll just have to remember that it’s all fake, and she’ll be fine. It’s just a cover, and she’s done that before, just like he has. And maybe he  _ wouldn’t _ be her first choice for fake husband, but it’s not because of lack of trust or affection.

It’s the opposite, and she’s not exactly about to make things better by admitting that.

“Fine.” She turns back to Leonard. “I’ll do it. Go and pack whatever you need to, and I’ll meet you back at the bridge.” He watches her for a second before turning to leave, and she calls out before he makes it through the door. “Hey, Len, wait.”

“What is it?” he asks, eyebrow raised.

“I just…” She exhales. “Thank you.”

There’s that flash again, that look in his eyes that she wishes she couldn’t see, or maybe that she wishes she saw more often, and then he nods and walks away.

She quickly gathers her stuff: some underthings since they’re comfortable and nobody’s going to be seeing them anyway, a couple knives she can keep hidden and won’t cause issues with time if she has to use them and leave them behind, and a picture of Laurel.

When she gets back to the bridge, small pack in hand, Rip looks relieved. She feels bad for making him worry. He has enough to deal with on a normal basis. 

“You’ll do it, then?” he asks. “Good,” he says in response to her nod. “Ah, Mr. Snart, there you are. We’ve a few last details to discuss before the two of you can leave.”

Leonard sets a small bag down and looks at Sara, seeming to be verifying she’s still okay with this. He waits until she nods, then turns his attention to Rip, who looks between the two of them before speaking.

“Here’s the device you’ll need to check the object. It should be relatively easy to find; the stick will glow a brighter yellow as you get closer. When it’s within range, approximately a few centimeters, it’ll turn green if we’re safe, red if the object poses a notable threat to the time line.” He hands the stick to Sara, and she glances at it before adding it to her bag. “You will be free to create your own backstories, for the most part. I figured that would be easier for you to remember. As for jobs, though, I had to create some to get you approved for the apartment. However, I didn’t want to have to meddle more than necessary, so neither of you will  _ actually _ be working while you’re there, other than your mission for me.

“Sara, you’re a schoolteacher, and since it’s summer, you won’t be expected to leave for work. Mr. Snart, you’re a security consultant for a new tech company nobody’s heard of, and you do the majority of your work from home.”

Sara can’t quite restrain a laugh at the irony of his job, and she sees Leonard smirk. 

“Aside from that,” Rip continues, ignoring their reactions, “you’re free to create whatever backstory you wish, as long as it helps you fit in. I do strongly urge that you talk about it and decide on the details as soon as you arrive.”

“Got it,” Sara says. “Anything else?”

“One last detail.” Rip produces a large ring box, and he opens it to show three rings: a simple engagement ring and matching his-and-hers wedding bands. 

When Sara doesn’t make a move to take the box, Leonard retrieves it, looking down at them with that unreadable expression again, then slips his on to his finger. He looks at Sara as he takes her rings out, and she holds up her left hand, palm up, glad to see her hand is mostly steady. He holds eye contact with her as, instead of just dropping the rings into her hand like she expects, he slides them into place on her finger. His thumb glides over the rings once, so briefly she might’ve imagined it, before he lets go.

She is in  _ so _ much trouble.


	2. For Better or for Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonard and Sara see their new apartment and get their stories straight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you the chapters should come quickly, right? ;)
> 
> Seriously though, don’t actually expect two chapters in a day to be a normal thing. Shortly after I posted the first chapter, some scary life stuff happened, and I wanted an escape, so I wrote the next chapter.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The apartment is fully furnished. Not that Sara expects anything different, but still, she's relieved when she opens the door and sees furniture that looks relatively normal and new.

“Could be worse,” Leonard observes over her shoulder. Sara looks back at him, conscious of the door across the hall, behind which should be the people they are doing this all for. She grins up at him, way too aware of how close he is, and hopes her smile looks like she's a besotted wife on their first day in a new place.

“Come on,” she says, taking his hand and pulling him inside. When he shuts the door behind him, she breathes, letting go of some of her tension. It’s just her and Leonard now, and he’s the easiest person for her to relax around, despite the fact that it sometimes takes effort not to kiss the smirk off his face.

Like right now.

“What’s so funny?” she asks, and he shakes his head.

“You know they _are_ going to have to see us soon, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I just…” She glances around. “Let’s see what we’ve got to work with while we’re here.”

Leonard nods, hint of a smirk still lingering on his face, and they split up. The front door opens directly into the living room. There’s a loveseat and a recliner, and there’s a decent (if way outdated by her standards) television that sits atop an entertainment center. There’s a VCR and a DVD player, as well as several tapes and a few DVDs.

The living room opens up into the kitchen, which is narrow but functional. The hallway Leonard disappeared down leads away from both, presumably into bedrooms and bathroom. She’s about to join him when she notices the photos hanging on the wall, one behind the sofa and one above the TV.

The one above the television is clearly (to Sara’s eyes) photoshopped, probably by Gideon; nobody else could’ve done so well, and she only knows that it’s photoshopped because she and Leonard have definitely never gotten married before.

In the photo, Leonard looks at the camera, wearing his challenging smirk and a tuxedo, with a tie that matches his eyes. Sara’s next to him, looking up at him with a soft smile and wearing a wedding dress.

The dress is short and wraps around her, flaring at the bottom. It's cut in a way that flatters her nicely, but it would still let her move freely, and it looks pretty much exactly like the sort of wedding dress she would choose for herself.

What has her staring, though, is her expression. She recognizes this moment; it's not like they've had all that many photos together, but she realizes she's never actually seen some of them. They'd just finished a mission, and Ray had asked for a photo of the heroes of the day. Sara had looked up at Leonard as he smirked, and she'd been only dimly aware of the flash going off. It hadn’t felt like that noteworthy a moment.

But she hadn't realized she looked so…

Her expression looks perfectly in place for a wedding photo; it is nothing short of adoration.

She shakes her head and turns to the other picture. This one has to be of their honeymoon. They're in flowing clothing on a beach, and she has a light hold on Leonard's arm. That narrows down the source significantly, and she remembers an outing (just for fun, for once) when she'd had to literally drag him to where the team was waiting. Mick had snapped this picture, so she was surprised she'd never seen it.

She knows she hasn't, because she would remember seeing that look on Leonard's face.

He's looks for all the world like he can't believe he's lucky enough to be with her. His eyes are soft and light as he looks down at her, a smile plays at his lips, and his whole body tilts toward Sara.

She swallows hard. She should've found an excuse to skip this mission; she's never going to survive it.

***

There’s only one bedroom. The one bedroom has only one bed.

It’s probably better for their cover since they don’t have to worry about explaining why they sleep separately if one of the Harpers happens to notice. Still, though…

There’s only one bed, and neither of them is exactly going to fit comfortably on the living room furniture. The loveseat is much too small, and the recliner looks like one that doesn’t go all the way flat, so it won’t let either of them get comfortable enough to sleep.

Not that he knows for sure Sara always sleeps on her side like he often does. But the one time he’s seen her fully asleep, she was on her side, curled up slightly, a little smile on her face, more relaxed than he's ever seen her. The image has stuck with him.

He checks the office one more time, making sure there's not an extra bed hiding somewhere (there's not), then joins Sara in the living room. She's staring at the wall, but she spins away as soon as she hears him.

“How are we looking?” she asks.

“There might be a slight complication.”

Sara starts down the hallway without waiting for him to elaborate. She barely peeks into the bathroom, but she stops at the office, which is set up with a desktop computer only a couple _decades_ behind what they're used to. She smirks at him, making her way farther down the hall.

“I still can't believe you're in tech security,” she says. “I mean, I know you're not really a crook anymore, but—” She stops, standing completely still at the bedroom door. “There's only one bed.”

“I noticed,” Leonard says, watching her. He hadn't planned to offer, but at the look on her face…  “I can sleep on the floor. There aren't any extra blankets, but—”

“No,” Sara interrupts without taking her eyes on the bed. “Don't be stupid. We should both get sleep since we don't know how long we're stuck here.”

“If you're sure.”

“Yeah.” She sighs and walks over to the bed, running her hand along the comforter before flopping onto her stomach. She rolls over, then pats the spot next to her. “We've gotta talk about our backstory before we have visitors.”

She's asking him to join her in the bed. That's not a first, at least, since they've played cards on almost every functional surface of the Waverider. It's different, though, knowing he'll be spending the night with her in the same bed that night.

He lies next to her carefully, much too aware of the heat she radiates. Eyes fixed firmly on the bumpy surface of the ceiling, he begins the discussion.

“How long have we been married?”

***

Her eyes are glued to the ceiling, finding phantom patterns. It seems like the safest course of action.

“We should probably stick with as close as we can to the truth, right? So we're newlyweds.”

“I should've carried you over the threshold, if this is our first place.”

Sara flushes immediately at the that thought, and she counts to ten before responding. “We can say you did, if they ask. What about how we met?”

“Mutual acquaintances. A blind date against our wills.”

Something about the way he says it makes her flash immediately to that first day on that random roof, meeting him without knowing how important he'd eventually become.

“We did both sort of know people there. Okay. So we dated for less than a year before getting married? Or do we need to change the timeline?”

“A year works fine.” She feels him shift, and when she looks at him, he's studying her. “We were madly in love and didn't want to wait.”

His voice holds a low rumble, and she bites her cheek to suppress a curse. She can handle this two ways: she can take the easy way out and agree absently, or she can stop being a coward and relax into their normal banter.

“Think you can manage that, Leonard? Pretending we're madly in love?” Okay, maybe it's not _exactly_ their normal banter.

He rolls so he's completely on his side, holding eye contact the whole time.

“I think I can manage,” he drawls. Her mind flashes to that damned photograph on the wall, the way he's looking at her in it. “What about you?”

She turns, too, and they're facing each other, bodies slightly curved, creating a loose circle that's somehow both relaxed and charged at the same time.

She remembers how she was looking at him in the wedding photo, thinks about all she feels for him and how much effort she puts into squashing that feeling. Really, acting like she likes him is going to be much easier (if much more painful) than acting like she doesn't.

“I can totally act, when I need to.” She licks her lips, and her breath gets caught when Leonard's eyes immediately drop to follow the motion.

***

They're in bed together discussing their _marriage,_ of all things, and suddenly Leonard is having trouble focusing beyond how much he wants to kiss her, how easy it would be to just lean in and press his lips to hers.

It's not like it's an uncommon feeling for him, but he's usually better at suppressing it. He needs to, though, so they can get back to this infernal discussion.

He drags his eyes back to hers, hoping she didn't notice his slip. “I proposed after six months. Got in a car wreck and could have died, and I decided to seize the moment. ‘Life is too short,’ and all of that.”

For a few seconds, he's pretty sure she stops breathing, and he narrows his eyes. She shouldn't react so strongly to a simple, imaginary statement. She licks her lips again, and she looks like she's trying to say something, so he waits until she speaks.

“I shot you down the first time. I wasn't ready, and I was scared after you almost died. But you asked again after a little bit, and I said yes.”

That was… He'd tried to discuss their future right before he'd nearly died, but she'd shut down the conversation. She'd had plenty of reason to (the whole “you pointed a gun at me” thing not really being a turn on, apparently), but then she’d kissed him. Moving forward, she immediately shut down any attempt at conversation on the topic of _them,_ so he figured she wasn't interested.

Is she now trying to tell him she was just scared and he should try again? Or is she just doing the best she can with their fake stories?

“Sara—”

The doorbell rings, and they hold their gazes for just a few seconds before they climb out of bed.

This is probably their marks. It's show time.

He follows her through the hallway, trying to get his head in the right place, sorting through what's real, what's not, and what's real as far as their visitors are concerned. When they get back into the living room, Leonard glances at the wall, coming to a stop when he finally realizes what Sara was staring at earlier.

He isn't surprised that's how he looks at Sara (he knows how it _feels_ , after all), but he hadn't realized it had ever been caught on camera.

“Did you see the other one?” Sara asks, making her way to the door and gesturing across the room.

He looks, and then he's torn between wanting to stare and wishing he hadn't looked at all.

It's the two of them, again.

It's the two of them at their wedding, and she's looking at him like he's everything she wants. And now he has to go pretend to be this person, her husband, when the lines between fiction and reality suddenly seem impossibly blurred.

This whole mission was a bad idea, wasn't it?

Shit.


	3. Forsaking All Others

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Len have to act like a married couple for the first time. When it doesn't go spectacularly, they agree they need some practice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's up the tension, shall we?

Leonard doesn’t fidget. It’s just not something he does. When there’s too much to process, he goes still, with few exceptions. It seems like Sara’s always there for his exceptions, like when he tapped his ring against a convenient surface aboard the Waverider while they waited, alone.

He isn’t fidgeting now, but he most definitely feels like he wants to. He can’t take a moment to think about the emotion those damned photographs stirred up, and he needs  _ somewhere _ to channel it while he and Sara meet their new neighbors. He takes a deep breath, trying to forget (for now) exactly how they’d been looking at each other and what that might mean, especially considering the sideways conversation they’d been having before they were interrupted.

He’s almost succeeded when he gets to the door, just in time to hear Sara introduce herself.

“Hi, I’m Sara Snart.” 

He knows she hears his sharp inhalation because her head tilts ever-so-slightly toward him, but she keeps her attention on the people outside the door. Another step, and he’s close enough to see that it is, indeed, Mr. and Mrs. Harper. Sara turns, finally, raising an eyebrow at him and smiling.

“This is my husband, Leonard.”

Fuck.

It takes way more effort than it should to drag his eyes away from Sara (which is ridiculous since he  _ knew _ they were going to be doing this), to turn his attention away from the woman who’d just happily introduced herself as his wife. She’s holding herself a little stiffly, so he knows it wasn’t as easy on her as it sounded. Somehow, that both helps and makes it worse; maybe she’s having trouble for some of the same reasons he is.

He stands next to her as he greets the Harpers. “It’s a pleasure,” he says, shaking each of their hands as they introduce themselves.

“I’m Michelle, and this is Matthew. We just wanted to make sure you two were settling in okay.” Michelle looks between the two of them, pleasant smile slipping slightly, then continues. “We’re right across the hall, so let us know if you need anything.”

Leonard takes a second to study them. They’re standing very close, and in the several seconds he’s been able to see them, Michelle has already touched Matthew three times. Maybe that’s why Michelle seems a little unsure; he and Sara aren’t touching at all, are holding themselves a little apart. 

He doesn’t let himself overthink it. This is a mission and he needs to do it right, and they can work through the rest when they don’t have a show to perform. He wraps his arm around Sara’s shoulders, pulling her to his side. Her hesitation is so brief, he doubts the Harpers notice, and then she’s leaning against him, her arm around his waist.

He’s never let himself imagine that they might fit together so well.

“We appreciate it,” he tells Michelle, who seems more comfortable now that he and Sara look like a couple. “We’ll need to get together for dinner sometime.”

Her face brightens. “That sounds wonderful! We’ll let you get settled in, and then we’ll find a date that works.”

“Sounds great,” Sara says, free hand coming up to rest on Leonard’s chest, and he is ridiculously aware of the fact that her wedding rings are over his heart.

There’s a chorus of goodbyes, and then the door is shut, and they’re still standing there, and he realizes he’s rubbing his thumb back and forth across his own wedding ring. He reminds himself he doesn’t fidget, then looks down at Sara. She’s still watching the closed door. 

“That maybe could’ve gone better,” she says. “I guess it wasn’t a total failure, though.”

“We need to get better at this.” He pulls her just a little tighter to him to show what he’s talking about, and he rests her head against him. She leaves it there for a few seconds before pulling away, breaking contact and turning to look at him.

“Are you okay with this? I mean,” she clarifies, “I wasn’t sure about the whole marriage thing, but I didn’t really stop to think about the PDA.” She doesn’t have to say she’s noticed he doesn’t care that much for contact; he’s sure the whole team is aware of it.

But Sara touches him more than she realizes. It’s never bothered him as much as it should have, and it hasn’t bothered him at all for some time. It makes his answer easy.

“I can handle you touching me, Sara.” At the mix of emotions in her eyes, he chickens out and backtracks slightly. “It’s just a job.”

“Yeah,” she says, rubbing her neck. “Right.”

There’s a moment, and he thinks she’s struggling to keep her cool as much as he is, and he wishes he hadn’t called it a job. He’s considering telling her as much when the phone rings, the shrill sound breaking through the silence.

Sara follows the sound to the kitchen and lifts the (thankfully cordless) phone off the hook. 

“Snart residence,” she answers, and there’s that stupid, automatic reaction again.

He wasn’t lying when he told her that he didn’t see himself as the marrying kind, so why does it affect him so much to hear that?

“Oh, hey, Rip.” Sara leans against the counter as she fills their fearless leader in on their first meeting. Leonard frowns at the unwarranted surge of jealousy, then leaves her to talk, going off in search of either a distraction or a way to sort through the jumbled mess of thoughts in his mind.

***

The rest of the day is (thankfully) uneventful. Everything’s already arranged, so there’s really no need to settle in properly. She does take some time to investigate their clothing options, which aren’t horrendous. 

Now, she’s hiding (yes, hiding) in the bathroom.

She knows she should give Leonard his turn in here, but when she comes out, she’ll have no excuse not to get in bed. And then he’s going to join her, and it’s either just a job for him or something more, and it’s getting harder to figure out which she wants.

There’s some twisted, inventive part of her mind telling her this is sort of like their wedding night; it’s their first time sleeping together, at any rate, and they have photographic evidence of their marriage.

Plus there are the rings that also signify their marriage.

She looks down at hers, at how they catch the light in the bathroom. She remembers how it felt when Leonard slid them on her finger, and she suppresses a shiver when her imagination insists on combining the memory of the deft touch with the previous conclusion that it’s almost their wedding night.

She shakes her head, looking back at her reflection in the mirror. It’s been too long since she’s gotten laid. That has to be what’s going on. Sure, she likes Leonard and finds him attractive (hot as hell at times, with those eyes of his and that  _ smirk _ ), but she’s never had so much trouble controlling her reactions.

And now she has to go get in bed with him.

She splashes cold water on her face, then takes a breath and leaves the bathroom. Leonard is still where she left him, reading a book on top of the covers, and he looks up when she comes in. He might not ask her what’s wrong, but his face does, briefly, before he puts his expressionless mask back on and gets up. He heads for the bathroom, his arm brushing hers as they pass.

Sara gets under the covers before she can chicken out. This shouldn’t be hard. This shouldn’t even be  _ noteworthy. _ She’s a grown woman, and he’s a grown man, and nothing’s going to happen. It’s just sleep.

When Leonard comes back in, his eyes fix on her before he turns his attention to getting under the covers. He looks at her inquisitively.

“Light on or off?” he asks.

“Off,” she answers, and he reaches over to flip the switch on the lamp, plunging them into near darkness. There’s a nightlight in the hall that provides a faint outline of the doorway, but she can’t see much else.

Leonard takes a minute to get comfortable. The bed isn’t all that big, but it’s not tiny, either. There’s enough room that they don’t have to touch, but they’re close enough together that it would take absolutely no effort to reach out to him. Such a large part of her wants to do that, to use the cover of darkness to take what she wants. 

Another part screams for her self-preservation, reminds her that the closer she gets to him, the harder losing him would be.

That’s not the part of her that wins.

“We really do need to get more comfortable touching, or they’re gonna think we’re that awkward couple and never let us in.” She holds her breath after speaking, waiting for his response.

It doesn't take long. “You’re right. How do you propose we go about that?”

She closes her eyes (not that it makes much difference) and reaches for his hand, her heart racing as he helps her lace their fingers together.

“I figure this is a start,” she says, internally cursing the tension in her voice and reminding herself again that she’s a grown woman. She’s holding his hand. This isn’t something to get so worked up over.

He makes a sound that’s something like a hum of agreement, and the silence that follows isn’t comfortable and isn’t awkward.

It’s  _ charged,  _ and she hates it and loves it, needs it to end and craves more.

They’re so close, and it would take such little effort to scoot closer, to roll over and—

“What about kissing?” Leonard’s voice breaks the silence, and Sara bites her lip at the roughness in it.

“What about it?” Her voice is (mostly) steady.

“We will probably need to kiss at some point during this mission. I suppose we should be comfortable with  _ that, _ too.”

“Are you—” Sara has to clear her throat before she can continue. “Are you saying we should try it?”

It’s so quiet that she can hear when he holds his breath before he speaks again.

“We’re married,” he answers, “or at least pretending to be. I suspect we should make sure it doesn’t look like they’re seeing our first kiss.”

Sara swallows, and the room is quiet again as Leonard waits for her response. He’s got a point, she has to admit, but there’s also that part of her that just wants to give in, and what if they kiss and she completely gives up any and all pretenses? He  _ can’t _ know how much he means to her. Not just yet. She wants it, wants  _ him,  _ enough that she’s making less-than-perfect choices, even hinting at him to make a move, but she’s just not quite there.

She’s not quite strong enough to turn down the offer of a kiss, though, either. But there have to be limits.

“No tongue,” she says, and he rolls toward her, their hands still linked between them. She rolls so she’s on her side, too. “I mean, they’re not gonna expect us to make out in front of them or anything. So just a peck on the lips.”

“I think we can handle that.”

She leans in, hoping he’s right, and manages to kiss his nose. After the tension, the anticipation, the minor mishap is too much, and she starts giggling, hiding her face against his chest when she can’t stop. He chuckles once and brings his free hand up to run along her bare arm. When she calms down and pulls back slightly, he moves the hand to her cheek.

She’s not breathing as his thumb strokes her skin, once, slowly.

“Practice, right?” he mutters, then leans forward and presses his lips to hers.

The kiss is light. Neither makes an attempt to deepen it, to break the tentative rules they have in place. However, it’s so much more than the friendly peck Sara had planned.

Their lips fit together as well as their owners do, falling perfectly into place, her top lip nestled between his, and his bottom lip positioned just right. The pressure is just enough to set her sensitive skin tingling, and there’s a rush of heat through her when he (or maybe she) increases the pressure ever so slightly, so when they pull apart there’s just the tiniest hint of delicious suction.

It shouldn’t have had such an effect, but her breath is uneven, and she takes comfort in hearing that his is, too, when he speaks once more.

“Practice.” This seems to be more to himself than to her, so she doesn't respond. “Goodnight, Sara.”

“Goodnight, Len.”

They scoot a little farther apart, but their hands are still joined, and neither seems about to let go. His breathing steadies, and he seems to be asleep while her mind is still spiraling.

She can do this. They can act like they’re together. She can let herself relax and just enjoy being with him, do the things she’s always wanted to, and then when they get back to the Waverider, it’ll be like none of it ever happened, and everything will go back to normal. She’ll still be safe, won’t have any more to lose than she did before this all started.

Right?

She presses her fingers to her lips, wondering whether that’s even what she still wants.


	4. All My Worldly Goods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len wakes Sara when she's having a bad dream. They spend some time with the Harpers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onward!
> 
> I wrote this with a migraine that hasn't fully faded, so apologies if there are any typos still here. 
> 
> I can't say how much I appreciate all the comments and kudos! You're all amazing <3

What the hell was he thinking?

He was thinking he wanted to kiss her and she handed him a perfect excuse. 

He’s thinking he  _ really _ wants to do it again.

It took him ages to fall asleep, though he did his best to pretend he passed out quickly. Now, after not nearly enough rest, he’s awake again, both questioning and congratulating last night’s choices.

They’d needed to  _ practice. _ Shit.

He doesn't want to hold back, not with her, and it was already hard enough before this, before last night. Now, it feels like maybe she really does want this as much as he does. And if that's true? 

He has no reason not to give in, no reason not to give her everything and accept her in return. 

She stirs but doesn't quite wake, reaching for his arm in her sleep and holding it tight. He swallows, wanting to kiss the frown off her face so badly that he decides he should get up rather than make a move while she's asleep. 

That wouldn't exactly be something he'd be proud of. 

He pulls away gently, trying to let her stay asleep if she can (one of them should be rested, at least), but she holds tighter, and he stops trying when she talks. 

She's still asleep, and she sounds more scared than he’s heard her before. “Don't leave! Can't lose you, too.”

What the hell is he supposed to do with that? If she were awake, he could tell her he was only going to the shower. He could say that he wouldn't ever leave her, regardless of whether they were friends or something else. 

But she's asleep. He scoots back into bed, hesitating before reaching out with the arm she doesn't have a death grip on. He tucks her hair behind her ear, making his choice when she almost whimpers. 

“Sara. Sara, wake up.”

It takes her a minute, and she holds him tighter before she opens her eyes. She looks at him, those blue eyes of hers fixing on his, and she seems to drink him in before realizing what's going on. 

“Shit,” she says, letting go of his arm. “Sorry.”

“It's fine.” He wants to hold her, and maybe she would let him, but she looks shaken from whatever was going on in her dream, and he doesn't want to take advantage. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I just… Yeah.”

“Do you need the bathroom before I go shower?”

“Um. Yeah. Give me a sec.”

***

He's in the shower, and the thought of it is doing absolutely nothing for the longing she woke with. He'd been watching her, his face just inches away, and though she couldn't quite remember her dream, she'd wanted nothing more than to kiss him. 

And now he's in the shower, and she's flipping through channels without really seeing what's on, because the only thing in her mind is Leonard, naked, with drops of water chasing each other over his skin. 

She really needs to get laid so she can stop thinking about this. Even if she were willing to risk their cover to go pick up a stranger, though, she doesn't think she would, not even to take the edge off, because it isn't just sex she wants. 

It's sex with  _ him.  _

And she doesn't know what to do about that. It doesn't seem like he would object, and for a minute, she toys with the idea of stripping down and joining him in the shower, seeing exactly how the rest of him feels against her. 

Inside her. 

Her imagination is interrupted by a cautious knock at the front door. She opens it, and Michelle Harper beams at her. 

“Hi, Sara! Are you and Leonard settling in okay?”

“Yeah,” she answers, honestly enough. “We've got everything all unpacked and set up.”

“Oh, that's great to hear!” The woman hesitates, then continues. “Matthew and I are going camping for the night, a little place not too far from here. We usually go with some friends, but they had to cancel last minute, so we thought we'd see if you wanted to join us instead. We already paid for both campsites.”

“I'm not sure we have any camping gear…”

“If that's the only problem, we've got extras. Matt likes to hang onto our stuff when we replace it. Comes in handy often enough that I stopped arguing.” Michelle grins, as if she knows Sara must be able to relate.

Camping sounds like it could actually be fun, and if it's just the four of them, it might be a great way to bond. If Sara declines, it might set them back, and she doesn't know how much longer she'll make it with her sanity intact with just her and Leonard in the apartment. 

“That sounds like fun, thank you! I just need to check with Leonard.” She pauses when Michelle continues to wait expectantly. “Come on in,” she offers, and the woman smiles before entering. “Make yourself comfortable,” Sara says, gesturing at the loveseat (though Michelle instead looks adoringly at the photos on the wall) and making her way down the hall. 

She knocks only briefly on the bathroom door before opening it, conscious of their audience. “Hey, Len,” she says before shutting the door behind her. She needs to remember that the apartment is small and she should act as if Michelle can hear everything they say at normal volume, even over the spray of the water. 

“Sara?”

“Michelle's here. She and Matthew invited us camping. Doesn't that sound fun?”

He pulls back the curtain enough to see her, and her mouth goes dry at the sight of his exposed, muscular shoulder. He gestures for her to come closer, and she does, swallowing and telling herself not to look behind the curtain, easy as it would be. Not to stare at that bit of arm and hint of chest. Not to notice how still and aware he looks.

“Wouldn't it be better to sneak into their apartment since we’ll know they're gone?” he asks, voice low.

“We shouldn't risk it,” she answers, leaning even closer. “Remember what Rip said about the timeline.”

His eyes flick between hers, and she hadn't meant to get this close, and when her lips part so she can get some air in the steamy room, his gaze drops to her mouth, and it's all she can do not to suggest more  _ practice, _ only there’s no way it would stop there, not today, now now _.  _

“Your call,” he says finally, and she lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. 

She swallows and steps back before she can do something stupid. “I'm so glad you want to go,” she says in a normal tone. “I'll go tell Michelle.”

Sara escapes while she has the strength.

***

He leans close enough that his lips brush her ear as he whispers, “It's generally a bad idea to go out in the woods alone with strangers. They could be serial killers.”

She giggles as if he's whispering sweet nothings, and though the sound is lighter than her genuine laugh, he does hear some actual amusement. They're in the back seat of the Harpers’ minivan, riding to the campsite. Sara touches his arm and leans in, and damn but having her lips touch him, even just the shell of his ear, is fantastic. 

“If they are, we can totally take them. Besides, I've got a knife in my boot, just in case.”

There's nothing fake about the smile he aims at her after that, and he sees Michelle grin back at them fondly. The mostly silent car is actually surprisingly comfortable. They exchanged stories about how they met, and it went without incident. They talked about work briefly before Matt said they should enjoy their day off. The conversation tapered off as they got close to the campsite. 

“Here we are,” Matt announces as they pull into a spot. They're surrounded by trees, and it's surprisingly appealing. There are two tent-sized clearings, each with fire pits, and there's a camp bathroom nearly out of sight. 

“This is great,” Sara says, getting out of the van. When he joins her, she slips her hand into his like it's nothing.

And maybe it is.

The Harpers really do have duplicates of everything, as Sara had promised. They spend some time fishing. He doesn't catch anything, but Sara does, and her excitement is probably the best thing he's ever seen, and when she holds up the little fish with a triumphant laugh and short dance before carefully unhooking it and tossing it back, he wants nothing more than to wrap his arms around her. 

So he does. They're playing house, after all, and there's nothing strange about him taking his wife in his arms. She doesn't tense this time, immediately returning the embrace with a happy, contented sound. 

Later, after campfire hot dogs and a walk around the lake, she leans into his side while they're making s’mores, and when the Harpers are momentarily occupied, she snatches the chocolate off his, shoving her perfectly toasted marshmallow in his mouth when he goes to protest. He glares at her while he chews the (admittedly delicious) sugary treat. 

He retaliates at first opportunity, swapping out her next, perfect marshmallow for an uncooked one at just the right moment. After a bite into it and an immediate face, she tosses it at his head, and he can't help it. 

He laughs. 

Her expression softens, and he tries to return his to something like neutral, but he's pretty sure he fails. He sticks the pilfered marshmallow in his mouth and chews, victorious. 

This means that when the Harpers decide to continue their conversation, he's unable to respond at first. He listens instead to the conversation between them and Sara. 

“I know you expected a normal dinner and not a camping invitation,” Michelle says. “I hope you don't think we're too strange.”

“Not at all!” Sara looks at Leonard, smiling, and he can't tell how much of it is for show when she squeezes his hand and continues, “We're having a great time.”

***

The Harpers are  _ boring. _ They’re sickeningly normal and cute, and it’s really hard to fight the desire to mess with them instead of getting into their good graces. She messes with Leonard instead, and by the time they crawl into their sleeping bags, Sara is almost dizzy with happiness, and she hates it.

And she loves it.

Sharing the bed last night broke the ice some, and tonight they at least have separate sleeping bags, so theoretically, it’ll be a much easier night. They start out facing each other, and she fights a laugh at the thought that it feels a bit like a sleepover. She takes a breath, way too wired to fall asleep yet but needing desperately to feel a little less giddy, a little more like herself. 

She wiggles closer so she can whisper but still be heard, just by Leonard and not through the cloth walls of the tent. “That walk was nice, but I've really got to get out some energy. It's weird going days without training, but I don't think the apartment would survive it.”

“We could go for another walk after they're asleep,” he suggests. “Go at our own pace instead of theirs.”

“That might help, yeah.” She grins at him. “How do you think Mick’s getting along without us on the ship?”

Leonard groans. “I don't really want to think about it. I'm sure he's fine, by his standards.” Mick never means to cause trouble (well, okay, “never” might be stretching it), and he's one of Sara's favorite people, but still, when he gets bored, he tends to cause a ruckus. “Besides, we shouldn’t be too much longer. They invited us over for dinner in a couple nights, remember?”

Any reply she might've had is cut short by a sound from the other tent, unmistakable as anything but a moan of pleasure. She closes her eyes before the next one, but it doesn't help. If anything, it makes it easier to picture herself with Leonard. 

“That's not something I expected we would need to practice.” At Leonard's voice, Sara's eyes fly open, and she sees immediately that he isn't serious. “At least,” he adds, and this time there's some flicker of emotion she can't place in the dark, “I didn't expect we would practice for an audience.”

She needs a good comeback, something that'll break the tension or push it over or she doesn't even know. 

“Shut up.” _Good one, Sara._

He smirks, and really, a  _ smirk  _ has no right to be so attractive. “Maybe it's a good time for that distraction. Sara,” he says, getting up and holding out a hand with a flourish, and who the hell needs pet names when a real name sounds like a caress? “May I have this walk?”


	5. To Love and to Cherish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With all of the emotional gray areas, someone was bound to slip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said not to expect two chapters in a day again, but, well... Here we are.

“I can't believe they were having sex  _ right there _ ,” Sara says when they're out of earshot. Her hand is in his, and he's not entirely sure how it got there, but he doesn't plan to let it go. That would ruin their cover. 

As if he gives a damn about their cover anymore. They've halfheartedly questioned the Harpers, and they've made plenty of ground with them (apparently more than he'd realized if they're willing to have audible sex just one campsite over), but he could be taking the mission more seriously. 

He's taken plenty of missions seriously, though. He much prefers the ones where he and Sara or he and Mick (or better, all three of them) get to let loose and have some fun. 

Not exactly the kind of fun the Harpers are having right now, but… 

“Wouldn't you?” he asks. “If you were camping with someone you couldn't keep your hands off of, wouldn't you want to have sex?”

He's pushing it, he thinks, given the possible implications of the question, but she answers anyway.

“Okay, yeah, fine. You're right.”

They're walking along the lake, and the moon is bright and almost full. Leonard doesn't really do romance, not properly, but if ever there were a time to make an exception, this is it. 

“This is almost pleasant.” That's romantic, right? Damn. 

His talk about the future was better, but that was before she turned him down, and even though he's more optimistic now, the stakes feel higher, too. If he'd thought their feelings were worth exploring back then? 

He doesn't have any doubts about how he feels for her now, and it terrifies the hell out of him. That he's still not sure exactly how much of her affection is genuine doesn't help matters in the slightest. But he's put some things together over the past couple of days, she he's increasingly certain she does feel the same for him. 

It's just that she's as scared as he is. Maybe more so. 

So he has to go carefully, to let her know how much he still wants this, how good they can be together, without scaring her off. For now, it seems like the best bet is just to continue pretending they're married. He knows the lines are as blurred for her as they are for him. It's evidenced by the way her hand grips his, the way she leans into him frequently as they walk. 

“This is nice, yeah,” she answers. “I still need more, though. There aren't any bears we can startle here or anything like that, so… race ya?” 

Her wink in the moonlight is as much time as he gets to prepare before she lets go of his hand and takes off. They're a decent match under these conditions; she's faster, but he's steadier. After an unexpectedly sharp turn brings her just seconds from falling into shallow water, he catches her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his chest, where she laughs contentedly. 

Until she stops. His arms are around her, and her hands are against his chest, and with the laughter gone, it turns into a proper embrace, and neither of them makes a move to pull away. 

***

“Any must-haves for our new place?” Sara asks in the car the next day, trying to feel out possibilities for whatever displaced object they've got. 

She's increasingly certain they can't be aware of it, though (they’re just too damned boring to have something dangerous on purpose), so they're going to need to use that dinner invite to find out for sure. Still, they can at least narrow down the options before they get there, have less of the apartment they’ll need to check.

Or not. “The minivan is nice,” says Matt, “if you’re planning on kids any time soon.”

Sara tenses, and she feels Leonard do the same next to her. It’s not that the idea is repulsive so much as the fact that they didn’t discuss this, and since everything’s felt a bit too real, she’d rather have talked this through on their own.

“I think we need some time  _ alone _ together first,” Leonard says, and his words relax her while the suggestion in his tone sends a thrill through her.

“That makes sense,” Matt says, putting his hand atop Michelle’s. “We waited a couple years before we started trying.”

Sara thinks that’s an invitation to ask whether they’ve been successful, and that feels just a little bit too much like asking about their sex lives. She doesn’t mind talking about sex, in general, but asking details from people she’s not interested in that way and doesn’t consider friends is more than a little weird.

“No luck yet,” Michelle says, saving her from the question and giving her the information anyway, “but we only just started.” That would maybe explain the enthusiastic sex with an audience in earshot. “We’re hoping for two kids, about two years apart. What about you? When you’re ready, how many do you want?”

Back to her and Leonard, then. She doesn’t even know the answer to this question for herself. She’s not sure she wants kids at all, and definitely not while living this particular life. She can’t quite help picturing it, though, seeing Leonard as the father, seeing him look down at their child with that softness he shows so rarely.

She swallows. She may not be sure she wants kids, but she realizes it’s the same as with marriage; if she ever decides to, she doesn’t hate the idea of it with  _ him. _

“Two kids, but further apart in age, maybe.” Sara looks up at Leonard and continues. “One would probably be enough, but we both ended up pretty close to our sisters. Our kid would probably appreciate a sibling.”

From the look on his face, she guesses he’s thinking more about Laurel and Lisa than he is about any potential children. He looks both concerned and protective, and she smiles up at him. She’s not really over her sister’s death (is that even possible?), but she’s in a better place, and it’s largely thanks to Leonard. 

She’s aware of their audience and thinks that maybe she and Leonard should kiss, but more than that, she  _ wants _ to kiss him. They haven’t again since that other night, since their first kiss (okay, their second, but their actual first kiss was a goodbye). But the moment is too charged, and it wouldn’t be an act, and maybe she should wait until it feels just a little less real.

Or maybe she should wait until they’ll both know it  _ is _ real.

Either way, this isn’t the moment.

***

They’re talking about potential kids and they’re talking about their sisters, and Leonard doesn’t do feelings, not openly in front of others, and he’s not quite sure how to react.

He assumes he’ll be a shitty father; it’s not like he had a great example to follow. There’s something about Sara, though, that makes him feel like he can be a better man than he ever thought he could, and somehow this carries over to the kid thing. Somehow, with just a few lines and whatever the hell that look is she’s aiming at him, Sara’s made him question more of his assumptions.

He’s still not sure he  _ wants _ kids, but maybe if he ever does, he won’t suck at being a father.

And she’s still looking up at him like he’s fantastic, and he really wants to kiss her, but there’s too  _ much _ in this moment, and though they might plan on PDA for this mission, it’s not something he’s particularly interested in when it’s real.

If he kisses her right now, it’ll be real, and they’ll both know it.

“Or maybe I’ll just keep him to myself forever,” Sara says, and it takes the edge off the desire while pushing it into a smolder, because there is no mistaking the implications behind her words, behind the fingers she slides from over his heart down to his abdomen, making him inhale.

She wants to play it that way, does she?

“We’d probably need a soundproof nursery, anyway,” he says, leveling her with the most suggestive look he can manage when he’s trying not to chuckle. She turns pink for a solid few seconds, and he covers her hand with his, moving it off his stomach and down to his thigh.

When he smirks, she seems to snap back to herself, and her eyes sparkle with challenge as she slides their joined hands upward until they’re too close, too much, and he stops the motion. She grins up at him, triumphant.

“You two are adorable,” Michelle gushes, pulling his attention from Sara and reminding him again they have an audience. “Matt, you should see their wedding and honeymoon photos. They’re looking at each other just like they are now, and it’s just the sweetest thing ever.”

Matt glances in the rearview mirror, then smiles indulgently at his wife, while Leonard fights the desire to look back at Sara to see whether she is really looking at him that way again.

“We need to get new photos, Matt. I heard that place down on Main is running a special right now. Isn’t that exciting?”

It’s too much. Leonard leans over to whisper in Sara’s ear. “These two need their lives shaken up. I say we rob them blind and give them something to live for. Screw the timeline.”

She shakes against him, trying to hold in her laughter, then tilts her head to whisper back, “See, this is why I love you.”

He grins at her before her words really register, and then he feels a rush of emotion that’s way too much to handle while they’re stuck in a car with the Harpers.

_ She loves him? _

***

Her face flushes and goes cold when she realizes what she’s said, what she’s whispered in his ear and can’t possibly blame on their married act. It takes her too long to recover, too long to cover her slip. He’s watching her with something like awe on his face, and she doesn’t think she can play it off as a joke or a figure of speech anymore.

She loves him.

It’s not like she didn’t already know, as much as she fights it, but that’s the first time she’s put words to her feelings, even to herself. And she said it out loud. To Leonard. With people around.

She closes her eyes and then looks out the window, far too aware of the fact that her hand is still on his thigh, close enough to a certain part of his anatomy as to be almost indecent, their impromptu game of chicken apparently forgotten. 

So much for pretending this is all a game, a cover, a mission. She’s blown it, and she doesn’t want to look at him again, because what if the awe has faded to be replaced with revulsion or dislike?

What if it hasn’t?

He’s the one who first brought up a discussion of  _ them,  _ after all. And if his feelings haven’t disappeared, then they’ve had months to grow stronger, like hers have. And what if they both feel this way?

There’s no way everything can go back to normal if they’re in love.

Sure, their missions will probably stay the same. Neither of them is about to act differently in front of others, and they already risk whatever they need in order to save the other. And she knows he’s not big on PDA, so probably nothing will change around the team in downtime, either.

But they’ll  _ know. _ Even if nothing changes in private, either, they’ll know, and she didn’t want this, wanted to fight it, because…

Because it would be too easy to be with him. Because she’d felt herself giving in without even trying. Because the two of them together just  _ work, _ and the easier everything is, the deeper they both fall and the harder it will be when it ends.

His fingers tighten around hers so he’s holding her hand properly, and she closes her eyes again.

The only thing more scary than the worry about losing him might be the hope that it could actually work out, that maybe despite the odds against two people as fucked up as they are, they can be together, and it won’t be fucked up. It’ll be  _ good. _

That hope is terrifying, because it would be entirely too easy to believe in.


	6. Let No Man Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Leonard have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me <3 There's good stuff here, too, and more good stuff over the final four chapters!

As soon as the door to the apartment closes, Leonard speaks. “We need to talk.”

She doesn’t look at him, and he knows she’s going to try to deflect. “What’s there to talk about?”

“Sara.” She starts down the hallway, and he tries again. “Sara, look at me.”

She turns, finally, her arms crossed over her chest. “There. I’m looking. Happy?”

“I want to talk about what you said.”

She turns away again, continuing into the bedroom. “Well, maybe I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Sara…”

“I’m  _ scared, _ okay?” She’s facing him again, her arms tight at her sides, her eyes wide and damp. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Sara—”

“And  _ stop _ saying my name like that, like you’re in love with me.” She throws herself on the bed, face down, and if he weren’t so worried, he’d probably grin at her dramatics.

He  _ is _ worried, though, because he doesn’t want to push her away, but he’s had enough. He can’t go on pretending they don’t mean to each other what they clearly do, especially after that stunning admission in the van.

He closes his eyes, fighting a wave of nausea, because if he fucks this up…

“What if I am?” he asks, biting out the words before he can change his mind. 

When he opens his eyes, she’s rolled over and is staring at him with an odd mix of disbelief, anger, and longing. 

“What if you… You  _ can’t, _ Leonard!” The anger has definitely taken the lead, and it sparks some in him, too.

“Why not? Why can’t I, Sara? Why can’t  _ you _ ? Tell me what’s going on here so I don’t lose my mind.”

He suspects, of course, is fairly certain based on what she’s said, both awake and asleep, but he can’t do anything with it until she actually talks to him. 

“Because people always leave.” She sits up. “People choose to go, or they have to, or people just fall apart, or they  _ die, _ Len.”

“I’m not going anywhere—” He starts, his words and his forward motion both halted when she interrupts, still angry.

“You almost did! You made me think about our future, and then you almost  _ died, _ and I would’ve only got that one, stupid goodbye kiss, and that would’ve been all I had because you’d be  _ dead. _ ” She gets up and paces in the space between the wall and the bed. “And then before I could figure out if I was okay with that, Laurel died, and yeah, you helped me with that, okay?”

He remembers. She’d been a mess (understandably so), and he’d been the only one who could console her, the only one she’d let touch her.

“But it was too much. It’s  _ still _ too much, Len, because I care about you even more than I did back then, and that means it would kill me to lose you, and I can’t be that person. I  _ won’t. _ ”

Her words ring through the empty room. He’s still for a minute before he steps forward, and her pacing stops. She turns to look at him, and he sees unshed tears in her eyes, and he wishes he could ignore it all and just kiss her until she feels better, but he can’t. They have to talk about this, or they’ll never move past it.

He never thought he’d be the one pushing for a relationship, but he wouldn’t change a thing about Sara, so if who they are means he needs to be the sappy one, well then…

“I’m not going anywhere, Sara. I haven’t stopped thinking about our future. And this? This pretend marriage? It’s been a pain in the ass and the best thing that’s happened to me, and a real relationship with you would be so much better.” He takes another step closer, and she doesn’t run, so he takes another.

“We  _ match, _ you and I. We balance each other out. We make a good team. You stay my hand when I need it, and I do the same for you, and all of this? It’s not going to go away if we give it a real shot.” He takes a breath. “If you weren’t interested, that would be one thing. It would suck, but I’d get past it. But not giving us a chance because you’re scared?”

He shakes his head. “You can’t give up on us before we’ve even started, Sara. That’s not you. You’re a fighter, the best kind.”

“What do I do about being scared?” Sara’s voice has lost the anger, finally. “I don’t know how to get past that. I’ve tried, believe me, especially the last couple days, but I don’t know how.”

He takes another step forward, and she’s in easy reach now. “I know you trust me,” he says. “It never stops amazing me, but I know you do.” He waits for her nod before he continues. “So trust me here, too. I will never leave you voluntarily, and if someone tries to take me away, I will fight it with everything I have. I didn’t die, Sara, and I don’t plan to any time soon.”

He waits for her response, and the silence stretches much too long, and he’s searching for something else to say when she finally speaks.

“Okay. I’ll try,” she says. 

He can’t help the grin that spreads across his face, and he takes one last, small step forward, so they’re almost sharing the same space. “That’s good,” he says, his voice catching in his throat.

“So we’re doing this, then?” she asks, looking up at him, and she’s so close that he can feel the heat radiating off her.

“Yes, I think we are,” he answers, cupping her cheek with his hand and leaning in.

_ Ding-dong. _

Sara blinks, the moment shattered. “Is that the doorbell?”

***

“I believe so,” Leonard answers, and she wants to just ignore it, but what if it’s urgent or if this is their chance to complete the mission?

“Should we answer it?” She’s hoping he says no, gives her an out, but instead he sighs and presses his lips to her forehead. She closes her eyes, enjoying the lingering touch.

“I suspect we should,” he says, and he drops his hand so he can take hers. They walk together to answer the door, and she pastes on a smile for the Harpers. 

When the door opens, though, it’s not the Harpers standing there. It’s Mick, and he’s wearing a shit-eating grin, one that only grows bigger when he sees their joined hands.

“If it isn’t Mr. and Mrs. Snart,” he says, and he holds up a small duffel bag. “I came to visit my brother and my favorite sister-in-law. Suprise!”

Sara snorts, and Leonard groans. “Come inside,” he says, and he opens the door, closing it firmly behind Mick after he enters. She realizes Leonard’s made no move to let go of her hand, despite Mick’s presence, and she decides she doesn’t want to let go of him, either.

He loves her. He’d all but said it, and then they were going to kiss, and Mick had shown up. Sure, she likes the man, but right now she just wishes he would go away.

“Rip was checking timelines,” Mick says, “and something changed. It’s more unstable now, so he wanted you to be even more careful.”

“Yes, but why are you  _ here _ ?” Leonard asks before she can. He seems no less annoyed with the situation than she is. “Couldn’t this have been done over the phone?”

“I’m here as your backup,” Mick explains. “Rip says he’s tired of missions going wrong.”

“So he sent  _ you _ ?” Sara asks, then backpedals quickly, finally letting go of Leonard’s hand so she can hold both of hers up in front of her. “Not that I’m not glad it’s you, if he had to send someone. It’s just that you’re already with us more often than not when things go wrong.”

Mick shrugs. “Maybe he was also a little annoyed at me for setting the kitchen on fire again.” He grins. “It’s not like Gideon can’t put it out before it gets out of control, and it’s fun to try to make things flamb é .”

“You will  _ not _ be cooking during your stay at our apartment,” Leonard says.

It doesn’t seem to deter Mick. “You sure? I wanted to celebrate your marriage. Fire is festive.” 

“You’re not cooking here,” Sara seconds, and Mick shrugs affably. “Did Rip say anything else? I mean, do we need to do anything different, or is that all he knows?”

Mick plops down on the recliner, dropping the bag at his feet. “That’s all he told me. Said you could call if you had questions.”

Sara rolls her eyes and heads for the kitchen. Over the sound of her dialing, she hears Len tell Mick, “That’s your bed while you’re here, you know.”

“Whatever,” Mick answers. “What’s up with you and Blondie?”

Rip answers the phone before she can hear Leonard’s response. “I presume this means you have questions.”

“How could we not, Rip? You sent Mick without warning, and you gave none of us any explanation worth anything.”

He sighs. “Look, I really don’t have that much more to tell you. Gideon says there’s something changing the timeline and it’s centered then and there. She says it isn’t  _ bad, _ but with things already unstable and you two on a mission you didn’t want to take, I wanted you to have backup.” He pauses. “Mr. Rory was simply the most convenient,” he mumbles. 

“Sure,” she says, but she’s distracted by a thought. What if she and Leonard are what’s changing? Not the original disturbance, but what’s changing now that they’re there? Is that even a possibility? “Gideon says the new changes aren’t bad? Maybe they’re not related.”

“She does, and that’s a possibility, but unless you and Mr. Snart are doing something I should be aware of, then I have to assume it’s related.”

Sara leans her head against the wall. This isn’t seriously happening. Rip didn’t send Mick just because she and Leonard were about to hook up. 

“We aren’t doing anything to risk the mission or the timeline where we are.” It’s true; if Gideon’s picking up on changes because of their relationship, they have to be in the future. Not now. Sara swallows at the thought of what the ship might be seeing.  _ But it isn’t bad. _ “I don’t really think we need Mick here.”

“On the contrary, the timeline has already re-stabilized slightly since Mr. Rory’s arrival,” Gideon chimes in, and Sara groans. 

“Okay, fine,” she says. “Mick can stay.”

“Thank you, Sara.” The relief in Rip’s voice is obvious, and she goes to hang up before she hears him speak again. “One more thing… Please don’t let Mr. Rory cook while he’s with you.”

“Yeah,” she says. “Figured that one out on our own, thanks.”

Hanging up, she walks back into the living room. Leonard is on the side of the loveseat that’s closer to Mick, and he’s scowling at his friend. At Sara’s entrance, his expression softens.

“Find out anything else?” he asks, and she sits down next to him. 

“Not really. He doesn’t know what’s causing the new issues.” But Sara might. She can tell him later; she has a feeling Mick would tease them mercilessly about it, and apparently, they’re not getting to the good stuff tonight, anyway, not if she’s right, not if Mick’s presence “stabilized” the changes that were about to happen. She leans against Leonard’s side, glaring at Mick and daring him to comment.

Mick just grins. He reaches forward and digs through his duffel bag, dragging out an aged bottle of what’s clearly alcohol of some kind. “If that’s settled, then… Who wants to get drunk?”


	7. If Anyone Objects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara, Len, and Mick share some drinks. Sara and Len cuddle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all are awesome. Here’s some drunken shenanigans and a peek at the next day.
> 
> Also, thanks for all the positive thoughts; doctor’s appointment went well and HUGE relief.

While he doesn't typically object to Mick’s presence, Leonard is more than a little frustrated at his friend’s timing.

He and Sara had been so close.

And now Mick is here. They've all had a fair amount to drink, and he'll admit he's a little less annoyed than he was; things are pleasantly fuzzy, and Sara is warm and curled into his side, and Leonard's arm fits just right around her shoulders, and something about this whole thing has Mick laughing, his cheeks red.

“What's so funny?” Leonard drawls, glaring.

“You know you don't have to pretend to be married around me, right?”

Sara flips him off, and Leonard chuckles, pulling her tighter against him before reaching for the bottle and taking another swig.

“Don't have to pretend you're _not_ together, either.”

Leonard chokes on the drink, and when he can breathe again, he points the bottle at Mick. “Only me and Sara can say what we are or aren't.”

“That's the point, Boss.” Mick seems much too amused.

It's Sara's turn to point at Mick. “You interrupted, you know. You had bad, bad timing.” She's over-enunciating, and he thinks it's adorable and can't stop the smile that spreads across his face. Maybe he should care that she's potentially over sharing, but he doesn't. “There's no way you've had as much to drink as us, Mick. I drink better than you. I shouldn't be more drunk.”

“Hey, don't blame me if you hogged the alcohol. And if you two wanna go get naked, I'm not gonna say anything. Much.”

Leonard looks down at Sara in time to see her stick her tongue out at Mick. He has no clue how he can find someone as deadly as she is so damned cute.

But he does.

He presses a kiss to the top of her head, refusing to look at Mick, focusing instead on the happy sound Sara makes. He's not sure what amazes him more: that he's comfortable with this semi-public domesticity, or that she is.

Not that he gets the impression she's as reserved as he is, physically. He's pretty certain she isn't. But this isn't just physical affection.

It's _cuddling,_ and they should both be running the other way, but instead they're getting closer. Maybe it's the alcohol, or maybe it's the fact that it's just Mick, but at this moment, he doesn't give a damn that someone's seeing the emotional display.

At least, he doesn't mind until Sara's hand starts wandering, sliding over his shirt, along the hem, moving to his thigh. He finally grabs her hand, and she seems content to lace their fingers together. It's the grin she aims at him that tells him for sure that she knew exactly what she was doing to him.

***

Leonard looks pained, and she's not sure whether it's because she's doing too much or not enough. She feels all warm and fuzzy, and she knows only part of it is from the alcohol.

She's still a little annoyed at the fact they didn't get to finish what they started, but in a way, this is good. She's relaxed. She doesn't have a chance to get all worried again, can just enjoy herself, enjoy Leonard's company and being allowed to _touch._

“We're really doing this,” she whispers, or at least she thinks she does. To whisper in his ear, she has to get distractingly close, and she really wants to take Mick up on his offer to let them ditch him and get naked, but she doesn’t really want their first time to be when they’re both impaired. “We are _not_ doing this while we’re drunk.” She wrinkles her nose. “I mean, _this_ we can do.” She tightens her grip on his thigh. “Just not… you know.”

Mick laughs again (he seems to find everything funny tonight), and Leonard turns his attention to his partner.

“I can still shoot better than you, even drunk,” he tells him.

Mick snorts. “I hit more targets than you do.”

“Yeah, with a _flamethrower,_ ” Leonard argues. “Of course you’re gonna hit more people. And more buildings. I like to be _precise_.” He seems to taste the last word, running it over his tongue and through his mouth at such a leisurely pace she thinks she can almost see it.

Sara really, really wishes they hadn’t been interrupted. She squints at Mick.

“You didn’t have to come, you know.” She can keep a secret, she really can, even under the influence, but this isn’t really a secret, is it? It’s a guess, and she thinks maybe Mick already knows. “Gideon said the changes weren’t bad. She didn’t even say they’re gonna change things _here!_ Just me and Leonard changing, doesn’t mean you had to rush in here and stop it. Change isn’t always bad, you know.” She takes the bottle from Leonard and takes another sip, making a face and tossing it neatly back over to Mick.

Mick took a long gulp of the drink. “So you’re saying the mission’s not going bad, it’s just you two were about to get freaky?”

“You got it,” she answers, and she shivers when Leonard nuzzles her neck.

“Good to know,” he says, and Sara nods, glad she was able to clear that up. “So tell me about our marks.”

“They’re so _boring,_ ” Sara whines, and she feels Leonard’s lips curl up in a smile against her skin.

If she’d stopped to think about it right after they almost kissed, she might’ve panicked. But now she’s had the chance to enjoy the evening with Leonard, _together_ but not forced to be, not pretending, just being themselves.

Okay, maybe sappy, drunk versions of themselves, but still.

It’s given a chance for the idea of it to sink in without panic getting in the way, and Sara knows that when this wears off in the morning, it’ll still be okay. It’ll still be _right,_ and maybe sometimes it’ll still be scary, but she trusts him, she really does, and together?

Together, they can make anything happen.

***

Sara and Leonard fall asleep before much longer, Blondie still cuddled into the Boss’s side like it’s her favorite place in the world. Hell, those two bring out the sentimental side even in him.

Which, of course, is exactly why he’s here.

Captain had pulled him aside and let him in on a little secret: “It’s possible that I slightly exaggerated the requirements of this mission.”

Mick doesn’t always like Rip, but they’ve come to some sort of understanding, and when it comes to the two idiots he’s looking at now, they’re definitely on the same page. So when Rip told him something with the timeline had changed and he couldn’t tell what, and he was concerned that he might’ve messed up, that he might’ve made things between them worse instead of better, Mick was happy enough to join them.

Of course, as soon as he showed up, he knew they didn’t really need his help. He also knew, though, that both of them overthought stuff sometimes, and he could stick around and make sure they kept going on the right track.

Also, giving them shit about it is a blast.

And the mission _is_ still a thing, even though Rip said the chances of the object being a problem were pretty much non-existent, so he figures maybe he can pick up any slack these two drop while they’re getting to _know_ each other.

He looks at them again and snorts before taking an actual sip of alcohol this time. He has to be careful drinking with Blondie, and he’s learned to fake at least half of his drinks if he doesn’t want to pass out before she does.

Mick didn’t think he’d ever be in support of someone coming between himself and Leonard, and when he and his partner had their… falling out, she’d been right in the middle of it. Mick had known if he pushed Leonard to choose, he’d choose the side Sara was on. It might not have been entirely because of Sara, but he was sure she’d been part of it.

It would’ve been easy to resent her, but he’d always kinda liked her, even then. And when he’d come back, she’d put herself in the middle again, pushing them to reconcile (or beat the hell out of each other, whatever worked).

Plus there’s the fact that she can kick Leonard’s ass in an unarmed fight, and that’s just fun to watch.

He’s not sure if they realize it, but they’re both better when they’re together. Leonard is relaxed in a way he _never_ is, and Sara has this energy about her, like she’s not feeling like she’s still half-dead. So, yeah, he’s happy as hell that they’re finally getting their shit together, and he’ll do what he can to keep it that way.

***

Sara wakes to a snore. Leonard’s breath is quiet, falling against her hair, and she twists until she can see the source of the snoring.

Mick is passed out in the recliner, empty bottle clutched to his chest.

Meanwhile, she and Leonard had somehow managed to both fit on the loveseat well enough to sleep. She thinks she might’ve fallen asleep while they were still sitting, but now Leonard is stretched out on his back, his feet dangling over the arm of the chair. Sara’s pretty much plastered to his side; his chest is her pillow, and one leg is draped over him where she can feel that he seems to be affected by this position even in his sleep.

She looks up at his face, as best she can see it from this angle. He seems relaxed, and she smiles. For this first _real,_ we’re-trying-this kiss, he should probably be awake, but that doesn’t mean she can’t kiss his cheek, right?

Or maybe his neck.

Or maybe both.

She shifts, trying to get where she can reach everything she wants to easily, and if she accidentally rubs against him some in the processes, well, the friction is amazing, and he reacts, too, his whole body going aware and alert as he wakes, and she _really_ wishes they’d made it to the bedroom last night.

***

Leonard wakes to a line of kisses (his cheek, his jaw, his throat, his collarbone) and to perfectly distracting friction against his easy morning erection. He might think he is dreaming, except he’s pretty sure his dream wouldn’t include Mick’s snores or a crick in his neck.

He barely suppresses a groan, and Sara seems to realize he’s awake, pulling herself back and grinning at him, her eyes dancing with mischief, her pupils wide and dark.

“Good morning,” she whispers, and maybe this is the perfect time for a kiss, and he threads his fingers through her hair and tilts his head and—

And is thoroughly distracted by another loud snore from his partner. Sara sighs and buries her face in his chest before she starts laughing, probably at the ridiculousness of this whole situation, but the laughter means she’s moving against him and her warm inner thigh is still pressed against him, and, “Maybe we should move to the bedroom before Mick wakes up.”

“Mick is already awake,” says the man in question, and Leonard tenses before sighing and sinking back into the loveseat.

“Maybe you can pretend to be asleep?” Sara asks, hopefully.

“Sorry, Blondie. You two need to fill me in on everything while you’re sober. You said something about dinner with the Harpers tonight, and I need more information. Plus an add to the invite.”

“I guess we’re up, then,” Sara says, and she goes to move, but he keeps his arms around her, keeping her in place while she laughs. It’s only partly because he doesn’t want his partner to see how much this has affected him and needs a second.

“I’m starving,” Mick says, getting up and heading to the kitchen. “Got stuff to make pancakes?”


	8. To Honor and to Protect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Len finally have that dinner at the Harpers' apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um. It's still teen, I think. It's pushing it, though.

Amazingly, Mick doesn’t burn the place down when he makes them breakfast. There's no chance of Sara or Leonard relaxing while he cooks, though, so for the most part, the gesture is wasted. They eat at the breakfast bar, Mick dwarfing the tall (but skinny) stool.

“You actually cook,” Sara says, obviously surprised, after she takes the first bite. “I mean, you don’t just burn things down. And you made this without a box mix or a recipe or anything.”

Mick shrugs. “Not like I’ve usually got someone to cook for me. At least, not before the Waverider. I like pancakes, so I learned to make them.”

“Well, you can make these for us any time,” Sara says around another mouthful, and Mick beams.

Leonard nods agreement, but he feels the need to clarify, “Just maybe make sure you knock.” He pins Sara with a look that makes her swallow visibly. They haven’t even _done_ anything, and they both know it’s going to be fantastic.

Mick chuckles. “Right, Boss.”

“I’ll go talk to the Harpers as soon as I’m done,” Sara says. “They get up pretty early.”

Leonard feels himself scowl, remembering another of their interruptions. Between Mick and the Harpers, he’s never going to get to kiss Sara quite like he wants to.

Savoring her, taking his time until she’s writhing beneath his touch.

Despite Sara’s light tone, she’s definitely on board with his mood. After a few more bites, her plate is clear. She turns on her stool, rubbing her hand firmly along his shoulder and down his chest before hopping down, “accidentally” slipping her fingers under his shirt at the change in altitude, skimming them along the sensitive skin there before bringing her plate to the sink.

“Okay, I'm gonna go,” she says, hesitating only a couple seconds before she comes over and stands on tiptoes to press a kiss to Leonard's cheek, lingering longer than necessary and grinning mischievously when she pulls away. “See you boys in a few.”

She walks to the door, not so much swaying her hips as making sure each step is deliberate, controlled. She winks at him in the doorway before shutting the door.

“Wouldn’t burn down your first place as a married man,” Mick says, and Leonard pulls his attention from the door to his partner. “You know I can cook as long as I don’t get bored.”

“I know,” Leonard responds, “but it’s hard to tell when you’re going to get bored. I appreciate it,” he says before playing the words over in his head again. “And I’m not married.”

“Sure, Boss. Keep telling yourself that.”

Leonard glares at Mick, but the other man just chuckles and continues.

“You haven’t gotten laid yet, have you?”

“I fail to see how that is any of your business.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’ then. What are you waiting on?”

“We’re waiting on you to go away.” Leonard takes another bite of pancakes, hoping to soften the words without taking them back.

He shouldn’t have worried about hurting Mick’s feelings. “You’ve had _days_ to screw each other stupid. You’ve wanted each other about as long as you’ve been on the Waverider. Don’t miss this chance and fuck it up.”

“We were doing just _fine_ before you showed up, Mick.” He stands and takes his plate to the sink, washing the dishes rather than loading them into the dishwasher. It gives him something to do with his hands.

Mick follows him. “You won’t have this little, pretend bubble when you’re back on the ship,” he says. “If you’re not sure about being together when it’s just me around, how are you gonna do it with the whole team?”

Leonard clenches his jaw. It’s not like he only wants her when they’re alone. It’s not even like they pretended they weren’t together last night. But he’s let Mick’s presence stop them from furthering anything.

And Mick’s right. It’ll be harder when they get back to the ship, back to the team. It’ll be harder when she’s no longer Sara Snart, when they don’t have the built-in excuse to touch.

But he doesn’t _care._ “I’m not gonna let it stop us. Not you, not the team. If we want to be together, we will, and nobody’s gonna say a damned thing about it, you got that?”

Mick has the nerve to smirk at him. “Yeah, Boss, I got it. Just wanted to make sure _you_ got it, too.”

Sara chooses that moment to return. “Alright,” she says, closing the door behind her and nodding. “Mick, you’ve got an invite. They are _so_ excited to meet Leonard’s brother.” She rolls her eyes. “We need to be there at 5:30, and we need to bring a side dish or dessert. Mick, can you cook anything other than pancakes?”

***

The rest of the day goes smoothly enough, but it’s frustrating; Sara can feel Leonard’s eyes on her, can feel the heat simmering between them, but there’s just not a chance to do anything about it properly, and after fighting it for so long, she doesn’t want to do halfway anymore.

She wants everything.

She’s clutching Leonard’s hand as they enter the Harpers’ apartment, the detection thing Rip gave them tucked safely in her pocket. Mick ends up in front, somehow, holding out a made-from-scratch pie.

“It’s apple,” he says gruffly, handing it to their hostess, and Sara feels both annoyance and amusement remembering their earlier scavenger hunt for just the right apples.

“Thank you!” Michelle says, beaming at him and accepting the pie. “You must be Mick.”

“That’s me,” he says. Sara sees Leonard elbow him in the side, and he continues. “Michelle, right? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh, nothing bad, I hope!” she says brightly before bringing the pie into the kitchen.

“Their place is bigger than yours,” Mick observes while Matt helps her in the kitchen (which is about twice the size of Sara and Len’s). They have a proper dining room, too, and that’s where the three sit while they wait.

“Ours is cozier, so ha,” Sara retorts quietly. She takes the stick out of her pocket long enough to glance at it. It's a brighter yellow, but still darker than she thinks it'll be in the right room. “It’s not in here.”

“We wait until there’s a distraction to check the rest of the place,” Leonard says, and Sara and Mick agree.

But that’s before she sits through an entire dinner and dessert worth of conversation.

It’s boring her to death. It’s not that _any_ conversation is boring, though she does prefer to have at least her hands occupied while she talks. It’s the Harpers. Sara hasn’t been _normal_ in a long time, and she doesn’t know how to relate to it anymore. She doesn’t even _want_ to relate to it anymore. She gravitates toward people who are a bit fucked up; Len and Mick are her favorites on board the Waverider. Rip’s up there, too, if she’s honest.

The Harpers are just too shiny and new, all happiness and optimism with nothing to knock them down and no reason to expect they ever _will_ be knocked down. Not that she wants them to be. They can stay this untempered version of themselves, just as long as she doesn't have to be around it much longer.

She needs a distraction, and she needs to do something with her hands, so she decides maybe she can get away with having some fun under the table.

Sara starts simple, taking Leonard’s hand in hers and resting them on his leg. He tenses briefly, and she’s not sure whether it’s because of the public touch or because he knows she’s not going to stop there. With how deliberately he relaxes, though, she’s pretty sure it’s because he knows she’s going to toy with him.

He doesn’t look at her, doesn’t try to keep her hand from moving, and she takes that as permission to continue. She starts rubbing his leg with their joined hands, rhythmically, going as far as she can without making her movement obvious to the others around the tables. She pushes the limits, but he doesn't stop her until her fingers graze the edge of his growing erection.

That's when her teasing backfires spectacularly.

Leonard decides to return the favor, his fingers strong and confident along the inner seam of her jeans, moving higher before stopping and moving back down, going almost imperceptibly higher on the next pass. It only takes her a few of these passes to snap.

It doesn't matter that the Harpers could get up at any time since dinner’s over. It doesn’t matter that there’s no real plan in place or a good distraction at hand. All that matters is that she _really_ needs to fuck Leonard, right now, and she can’t do that until they’ve finished this stupid mission. She stands up.

“Sorry, I just need to duck into the restroom. Same direction as ours?” she asks, pointing down the hallway.

“Second door on the left,” says Matt, “just past the office.”

The office. That has to be where this stupid object is. She makes sure she's out of sight of the dining room, then turns the office doorknob, slowly and quietly. The room looks a lot like theirs, a single desk with a computer that's probably advanced for this time. There are bookshelves, though, covered in knickknacks and decorations.

The stick is glowing much more brightly. She starts at one side of the room, moving up and down along the shelves, cursing how long this is taking. Finally, near the opposite side of the room, the glowing increases dramatically just before changing color.

Green. They're safe.

And the item is a fucking snow globe of Paris.

She hears a sound behind her, and she's spun around by hands she dimly recognizes as Leonard's before she's pressed against an empty bit of wall and his lips come crashing down on hers.

Nothing in her fights against the onslaught she's been waiting for. The hand holding the stick rests on his chest while the other slides under his shirt to the skin she's teased herself with a few times now. She tries to bite back a moan when he runs his tongue along the seam of her lips, dimly aware that they're still in earshot of others, and pulls him closer.

Leonard tips her head with a well-placed hand and there's a low rumble from him as they deepen the kiss. She'd had the lemon meringue pie for dessert and he'd had Mick’s apple pie and somehow the tastes just _work_ together, and of course they kiss as well as they do anything else, and—

And of course they're interrupted again.

“Oh,” comes Matt's voice from behind Leonard. “I didn't, um...”  He seems to recover and laughs while Sara holds tight to Leonard, not wanting (not able) to let go. “Just wanted to make sure you two were alright. Forgot for a second that you're newlyweds. I'll give you a minute.” He chuckles again as he leaves.

“Did you find what we need?” Leonard rasps.

“We’re good,” she manages, waving the green stick at him before shoving it back in her pocket. “How’d you know to come in here?” She keeps her voice hushed, and he leans in to hear it.

“I figured this was what you were doing, so I came to stand watch outside the room,” he says against her ear, his voice low and rougher than she’s ever heard it. “When I heard him coming, I figured we should have a reason we disappeared.” He presses his lips to hers again, groaning. “This seemed like the best idea at the time.”

“It _still_ seems like the best idea.” Sara pulls him down for another kiss.

“Well,” he says, his hand sliding along her back until it cups her ass, and he pulls her against him, letting her feel just how hard he is, “it’d be a better idea if we didn’t have to walk past them to get back to the apartment.”

“No quickie in the neighbors’ office?” Sara’s only half joking.

“No,” he says, “because I want to take my time. I want to touch you, taste you, move inside of you until neither of us can stand it, and I want to hear you say my name while you come undone around me.”

“Holy shit, Len.” He’s smirking at her, and she’s having way too much trouble catching her breath. “We need to get out of here. Now.”

“If you insist,” he says, as if he weren’t the one who just suggested it, sucking on a spot at the junction of her neck and shoulders, pulling her tightly against him again when her knees almost give out.

“Okay,” she says, pulling back and shoving against his shoulders until he lets go. “Let’s go say goodbye to the Harpers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew. Okay. So. I said at the beginning that I'd make this adult if people wanted, and Tumblr basically said yes they want, but there wasn't really any feedback here on rating (other feedback has been wonderful, thank you!). So if you have an opinion on whether it should stay strong teen or be proper smut next chapter, please let me know.


	9. To Have and to Hold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You asked for it, so enjoy! Take note of the ratings change.
> 
> That's basically all that happens in this chapter. The very last section isn't sex, so if you want to skip the smut, you get about 200 words.

When they get back to their apartment a few excruciating minutes later (the Harpers being more than understanding), Leonard decides he doesn't need crime. He doesn't need action and adventure. He doesn't need to be a hero. 

He just needs  _ this,  _ Sara's lips against his, her body pressing into him, lean muscle putting just the right pressure in just the right places. 

“Get a room,” Mick tells them good-naturedly, and Sara pulls back far enough to flip him off. 

“We're working on it,” she says, and obviously they are, but it still sends a thrill of anticipation through him. 

Mick shuts the apartment door (Len hadn't realized they left it open) and collapses onto the recliner, turning on the TV and cranking the volume as Sara and Leonard make their way toward the bedroom, progress slowed by wandering hands and lips. 

Leonard stops while he's still within earshot of Mick. “Don’t come in unless the place is on fire,” he says, and it’s almost a snarl, and he dips his lips to Sara's neck.

“Yeah, you know what, maybe not even then,” Sara adds, dragging him into the bedroom and shutting the door behind them. “Is it weird that I don’t care that he knows what we’re doing?”

“I don’t really give a damn  _ who _ knows at this point, Sara.” He pauses long enough to crush his lips to hers once more. “As long as we don’t get interrupted again.”

***

“I'm down with that.”

He smirks, and finally,  _ finally  _ she's able to kiss the expression off his face like she's wanted to for so long, pushing him down so he's sitting on the edge of bed and then straddling his lap, her feet still on the floor as she takes his mouth with her tongue. After a few long minutes, she stops, panting, to check whether he's still smirking. 

He isn't. His pupils are huge, and his breath is ragged, and his mouth is slightly parted, and he's looking at her like she's the sun and he's never seen light before. It would take more control than Sara has not to dip her head for another kiss.

So she does. The tastes of the desserts have faded, devoured, and all she can taste is him.

She squeaks when he pulls her forward, taking the weight off her feet and putting it instead where she’s so very ready for them to be joined together. Even like this, fully clothed and not quite at the right angle, it feels amazing.

It’s not enough.

She tugs at his shirt (a gray, long-sleeved shirt that shouldn't look half as good on him as it does) until she manages to get it up and over his head, and then she trails her fingers over exposed skin, slowing when she feels the many scars. 

***

Sara leans back to look at him, and he feels self-conscious despite the lack of censure in her eyes. She doesn't seem any less turned on, only seems to want to see this part of him, too. 

He needs a minute, but he doesn't want to slow their momentum, so he peels her shirt up and off her, exposing her scars, too. She's still in his lap, and she shifts back enough that they can see each other properly. 

Though Sara reveals more skin in a typical day than he does, he still hasn't seen most of these scars. Some of them he knows the stories behind (this one has to be from when she died) and some he wants to know. The visual exchange doesn't last long before he starts tracing her scars with his fingertips, lingering over ones in sensitive places, skimming her bra line. He slips that off, too, and damn but she looks fantastic like this, exposed from the waist up and looking at him like she can't wait for her turn. 

She doesn't wait much longer, either. After he circles one breast before running his thumb along the underside, coming tantalizingly close to one erect nipple, she pushes him backward. 

They maneuver until she's satisfied, and then she starts exploring each one of his scars. 

With her mouth. 

He's never liked the memories that come with most of his scars (though they’ve served their purpose in keeping him safe, for the most part), but Sara's replacing them with new memories as she caresses, licks, and sucks her way down his torso, blonde hair spread out across his skin. When she reaches his jeans, she looks up at him and grins, and it's the filthiest smile he's ever seen on her. 

She unbuttons his jeans and slides them off with just a little help, and then her warm breath is blowing deliberately over the boxers that strain to keep him in place. She takes those off, too, and while he's never felt like he needed to prove anything in this particular area, he still feels his ego swell (along with another area of interest) when she licks her lips at the sight of him. 

He takes advantage of her distraction to flip them, Sara landing on her back with a laugh. He kisses her thoroughly before he moves downward, intentionally avoiding any areas he knows are particularly sensitive as he kisses his way along her chest and abdomen. She's glaring at him by the time he reaches her navel, and he chuckles. 

***

He's fucking teasing her, and between knowing that and hearing that particular low, sensual laugh of his when his mouth is hovering around her belly button, Sara feels like she's about to lose her mind. There's no possible way to be this turned on before they're even both naked, is there? 

He unbuttons her jeans and pulls them off along with her skimpy underwear. 

“Hey, you were supposed to admire me in those panties, you know. I picked them out just for us.”

He's still where he was for getting the jeans out of the way, which puts him just inches from where she'd really like some attention (any time now), and the sight of him there,  _ smirking,  _ is really unfair. 

She wants to remember it forever, but still, it's not even close to fair that he can make her want him so much with a fucking  _ look.  _

“Next time,” he promises, crawling back up to her mouth, resting his weight on her in a way that makes it clear he isn't ready to start and it'll be heaven when he does. 

She skims her fingers along his back while they kiss, and he hums his appreciation into her mouth, and she remembers abruptly that he doesn't usually care for contact. And yet, he's not shying away from it in the slightest, and she remembers him saying he can handle contact with her, and the trust he's showing is nothing short of amazing. 

Unaware of her realization, he pulls back and looks at her, pinning her with that same look he used during breakfast that morning, and when he moves down her body this time, he most definitely gives her sensitive spots attention. 

He sucks at a spot above her collarbone. 

He nips lightly at the flesh above her breast. 

He runs his tongue in a circle around her nipple, letting her feel the warmth of him before the wetness actually makes contact and he closes his lips over her, adding just the right amount of suction. 

He moves to the other breast, and she's rubbing her thighs together by the time he finishes. 

***

Sara squirming under his touch is better than he'd ever imagined. When he feels her shifting her thighs together for some friction, he grins against her nipple, then slides his hand along her firm stomach, gently parting her thighs and settling a knee between her legs. He slides his fingers up the sensitive skin, much as he'd done at dinner (except so much better without the audience or the clothing), and when she whimpers he takes pity. 

He releases her nipple so he can see her face when he trails his fingers through her dampness, watches her eyes close and her mouth part and her head tip back, and he's barely even touched her. 

He pulls his thumb through the slickness and then brings it to her clit, rubbing firm circles against it while he resumes his attentions to her breasts. She has to have been even more on edge than he realized, because it doesn't take long before she's arching off the bed, one hand clutching his wrist to keep him firmly in place, groaning out incoherent syllables until she gasps. 

He works her through the orgasm, feeling her pulse against his hand, waiting until she loosens her grip to let her go. He moves back up to kiss her, and she runs her fingernails along the back of his head before running them down his back and pulling him closer. 

“You promised you'd be inside me,” she says, rocking against him, and he remembers his words in the Harpers’ study. 

“So I did,” he says, and at the look in her eyes (how can someone look half-sated and still mischievous?), he challenges, “What are you gonna do about that?”

He's on his back before he feels her move, and she's on top of him, hand curled firmly around his erection, which is poised at her entrance. He can feel how warm and wet she is, and it's all he can do not to buck up into her. 

“Condom?” he asks. 

Sara doesn't move. “I've got an implant, and I'm clean. You?”

“Clean.”

He's barely gotten the word out when she sinks down on him, and it's his turn to close his eyes as he's overwhelmed by the sensation. 

***

As good as it was, she still wanted more after that orgasm, and this? Leonard inside her, stretching her, this is exactly what she needs. When he opens his eyes after a few seconds and looks at her, gaze even bluer than usual, she dips down to kiss him before straightening, putting her hands on his chest for leverage, and starting to move. 

His hands move to her hips, and together they find a rhythm, and she adjusts her angle until she can swivel just right, and with every thrust he's hitting that spot inside her and she's grinding her clit against where they come together. She starts speeding up despite her half-hearted intent to keep this slow, and it feels like he's getting even bigger inside her, and oh god this isn't going to last much longer.

He starts meeting her downward movement with a stronger upward thrust, and it's so good it almost hurts, and they're moving faster and harder and losing their rhythm and—

“Oh, fuck, Len.”

“Mmm, Sara.”

They break apart, and she can't catch her breath through the pleasure of it, and if this moment never ended, she would be okay with that. 

It does end, of course, and she collapses against him, waiting until her breathing is almost normal to pull off him and tilt to one side, still against him but no longer on top of him. 

“I fully intended to see what you taste like in other places, you know,” she says, kissing him one more time before resting her head on his chest. 

“Next time,” he says, running a hand down her arm. 

“Making a lot of promises for next time. It'd better be worth it.”

***

When “next time” comes a few hours later, it's at least as good as the first time, and Sara mumbles that it was so worth it, then falls asleep. Her head is pillowed on his shoulder, and her hand rests on his chest, wedding rings catching the faintest bit of light. 

There’s still the tiniest part of him that says he should run, literally or figuratively, that this whole thing was too much.

He tells that part to fuck off, and he pulls Sara closer. 

He loves her. He’s not ready to say it in so many words, but he does, with everything he has. 

He’s actually  _ enjoyed _ pretending to be married to her, not just tolerated it. And sure, they got to skip the budgeting and the bills and the fights he knows two stubborn people in such close, constant quarters are likely to have.

But having someone there who gets him, who he trusts enough to relax around, who trusts him despite everything, has been amazing.

Plus, there’s the sex, which is good as he’d known it would be.

Leonard isn’t ready for this to end, but it doesn’t have to. The fake marriage, sure, but  _ them? _ They’re good. They’re better than good.

They’ll go back to the Waverider tomorrow, and maybe it’ll be a bit of a pain in the ass at first, but then everything can keep going just like this. He kisses the top of her head, and she snuggles closer in her sleep. He closes his eyes and joins her.


	10. As Long as we Both Shall Live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara, Len, and Mick return to the Waverider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like I just started this, and here we are at the end already. I’m a little sad! I’m willing to continue writing for this version of them; I have ideas for at least three follow-up ficlets. I have GOT to finish my other WIPs first, though.
> 
> Thank you so much for joining me on this journey! It’s been a blast, and you’re all amazing!

They wake to banging on the door.

“Hey,” comes Mick’s voice. “Rip says we've gotta get back to the Waverider so the apartment can get cleared out on time.”

“Since when was there a timeline here?” Leonard grumbles, his chest rumbling against her cheek.

“Since you finished the mission last night,” Mick answers. “Come on, we've got ten minutes.”

Sara looks up at Leonard, and the thoughts from waking up curled against him, both of them still undressed, must show on her face, because he smirks.

“It's not long enough to do anything if we have to grab our things, too.”

“We didn't bring much. What if we grab them _really_ fast?” Sara wiggles against him, feeling his interest grow, and it's her turn to smirk. “What's the worst that can happen if we're a couple minutes late, anyway?”

She kisses him then, and his hands move to her bare skin without further hesitation, and while it's not the leisurely morning romp she might've chosen, hard and fast has always held its appeal, too. After recovering, they have just barely enough time to grab their things before Mick knocks again. Sara's looking at her picture of Laurel.

It's not the first time she's wondered what her sister would think of Leonard, but it feels more important now. She thinks they'd probably get along okay. Better than Len and her father, if they ever get around to that.

Leonard makes her happy and could never bore her to death, and that has to count for something with the family, on both sides; Sara still has to meet Lisa, too.

“Ready?” Leonard asks, his voice gentle and affectionate, not a tone he uses often. “I can tell Mick to buzz off if you need a minute.”

“No, I'm good,” Sara says, putting away the photo and standing. “Thanks.”

Mick rolls his eyes at them when they emerge from the bedroom, but Sara catches a smile before he turns away. Mick leads the way out of the apartment, but Leonard stops her before they walk through the doorway.

“I forgot something,” he says. Before Sara can ask what, his lips are on hers, one hand in her hair and another at her waist, and she pulls him close, pouring herself into this last kiss before they return to reality.

“I'd tell you to get a room again,” Mick says, nice enough to wait until they're done before he speaks, “but we gotta get going.”

“We're coming, Mick,” Leonard says, watching her for another couple seconds before they follow through.

The ship is parked a short walk from the apartment complex (really, she's surprised they didn't have more interruptions). As they walk, she and Leonard aren't holding hands, but they're close enough that their arms brush against each other every few steps.

They'd decided last night that they weren't going to announce anything to the team, but they weren't going to hide it, either. They just didn't really want anyone making a big deal about it. Not yet, anyway, not when it’s new and they’ve waited so long to get here.

So of course, as soon as they get back to the bridge, Rip looks between them, then toward Mick (but she can’t see what his expression is since he’s behind them) before a look crosses his face, and she’d swear it was relief, except that when he speaks, it’s with his standard, what-have-you-done-to-me-now tone.

Rip sighs. “I can’t say I didn’t foresee this development. Honestly, I expected it sooner. Nonetheless, I trust the two of you are capable of remaining professional despite any romantic entanglement?” Before Sara can decide where to even start, he continues, “Well, as professional as the three of you ever are.”

Sara snorts. Rip is used to them and their methods, and he acts like they annoy him with some regularity, but he’s not the best at hiding his amusement, despite any real exasperation. Now seems to be no exception to that, so she isn’t actually worried about upsetting him.

“Okay, first, nothing’s gonna change with us on missions,” Sara says, and she feels Leonard step closer to her, wordlessly backing her up. “Second, what do you mean you expected this sooner? And third, how the hell do you know, anyway?”

“Miss Lance, it is my job to know my team and their missions. Are you really that surprised when I do it well?”

“Yes,” Leonard answers for her, and Rip sighs dramatically before turning away.

“At any rate, this mission was successful, so thank you.”

“Need anything from us?” Mick asks, and Rip shakes his head.

“No, no need for a full debrief. I've got what I need. You can go.” When they all turn to leave, he calls her back. “Sara, if I might have a word.”

Leonard raises an eyebrow at her, then leaves when she nods that all is okay.

“What’s up?” she asks Rip.

He’s more relaxed after the men leave, really there, not hidden by the cloak he wears so often as captain. “I know you were reluctant to take this mission. I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay and that it was worth it, especially given that it was essentially a false alarm.”

Sara smiles at him. “Yeah. The mission was totally worth it. Thanks.”

***

Leonard and Mick decide to grab a drink. He has to admit, the drinks they can get on the Waverider are pretty good, even if the atmosphere isn't exactly what he associates with a bar.

Mick breaks the silence that falls. “You’re not gonna screw this up.”

Leonard eyes the man. It wasn’t a question. Hell, his tone was too definite even for a simple statement.

“You sound way more certain about that than I am,” he drawls finally, after too much time has passed.

“That’s ‘cause I know you, and I know Blondie. Know both of you are worried about screwing it up, but know what else?”

Mick obviously intends to continue regardless of any response, but Leonard bites anyway, because yeah, he’s in this, he really is, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a little terrified if he stops to think about all the ways it could go sideways. “What?”

“You’re both too damned stubborn to let each other ruin it.” His piece said, Mick nods as if to punctuate his point, then takes a swig of his beer just as Sara joins them.

Leonard doesn’t smile as he watches her take the stool next to him, but he feels one pulling at his lips regardless. Mick’s right, the ass; he’s not going to let go of her any easier than she’ll let go of him.

And maybe they won’t ever have to.

Before Sara decides on a drink, Raymond walks in and sits across from them as if he’s been invited. Honestly, the man doesn’t bother him as much as he still pretends sometimes, but Leonard finds it amusing (and almost equally frustrating) how rarely he can get a rise out of the geek. This time, he’s done nothing more than halfheartedly glare before Raymond speaks, his voice much too entertained.

“You two finally got together, huh?” he says, looking between him and Sara and _beaming._ “Congrats!”

Leonard narrows his eyes further, and Sara tries to speak.

“How did– What? I don’t– What are you talking about?”

Leonard does grin now; he can feel it as he tilts his head so he can see her properly. Sara so uncomposed is a rare sight, and the way her mouth hangs open oh-so-slightly reminds him of her face when he hits just the right spot, and…

...and this is a train of thought he really shouldn’t be following with Mick to one side and Raymond across from him.

“Am I not…” Ray looks uncertain now, and he glances at Mick, who has the nerve to laugh before taking another drink. That seems to be all the confirmation Ray needs, and the man relaxes. “If you’re not ready to talk about it, that’s fine,” he says, sliding off the stool and walking way too casually toward the door. He turns back to them before he leaves, grinning. “But congratulations, anyway.”

Sara huffs as he walks out of sight, then turns to glare at Mick. Leonard turns to look at his partner as well.

“First Rip, now Ray,” Sara starts, and she sounds more perplexed than angry. “Did you tell everyone, Mick? And _when_ did you tell everyone?”

He chuckles again. “I didn’t. Not a word.”

“Then how does everyone know?”

Leonard stays silent, suspecting he might already know the answer to that one, and it has nothing to do with Rip’s line about knowing things because he’s the captain.

“Two of you’ve had eyes for each other since you got on this ship, and it showed. A lot. Now it’s worse, but you both look like you had a good lay.”

Leonard closes his eyes and finishes off his drink.

“Thanks, Mick.” It doesn’t come out nearly as sarcastic as he was aiming for. “Think we’re gonna go unpack now.” He raises an eyebrow at Sara, who luckily catches on immediately.

“Yep.” She hops down from her stool, and he follows. “Lots to do. Catch you later, Mick.”

Mick raises his drink to them as they leave.

“My room?” Sara asks. “Less likely to be interrupted.”

“That’s always a plus,” Leonard answers. They get there quickly, and when the door closes, she turns to look at him, and there’s the annoyance he’d expected in her interaction with Mick.

“Are we really that obvious?” she asks. “Not that we _needed_ to hide it or anything, but I mean… Are we really that obvious?”

He smirks. “Well, I _am_ a pretty good lay…”

“Shut up,” she says, a smile playing at her lips while she rolls her eyes at his (true, he’s pretty sure) attempt at humor.

“Mick’s right, I think, that we’ve gotten worse,” he says, more serious this time. “I almost _smiled_ when I saw you come in the room.” This, he says it like it’s the most outrageous thing he’s ever heard of, and it gets a snort out of her.

“Gotta be careful or you’re gonna start acting like we’re together or something.” Her voice is light, her eyes sparkling, and he feels a swelling of affection and a bit of awe at the fact that either of them is confident enough, already, in what they are that they can joke like this.

“Don’t expect me to get all mushy or anything,” he warns, leveling a mock glare in her direction.

Of course, the look doesn’t faze her in the slightest; she just laughs. “You’re already pretty damned mushy, for Captain Cold.”

“Yeah, well, don’t tell anybody. I’ve got a reputation to keep.”

Sara grins and walks over to put her arms around him, and his close automatically around her, and he knows that if anyone saw him right now, with the expression that he knows he’s wearing, there’d be no chance of maintaining any reputation but the one that he and Sara are both radiating:

They’re in love.


End file.
